The Third Player
by Nild
Summary: Jaune changed the night his eyes were opened. Caught in a war between two powerhouses, how will he change the fate of Remnant? Ozpin and Salem, player three is joining the game.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The forest of Forever Fall was a breathtaking sight. The perpetual rain of leaves from from a blood red canopy was beautiful. Remnants shattered moon coated the forest in a soft and comforting glow. Crickets chirped happily, and Wolves sang into the night sky. The serene scene was broken by the sound of voices. Two figures trudged through the swirling red leaves of the forest. One man was a balding middle aged business man by the name of Jackson Gray. Gray was a very influential person in his home kingdom of Atlas, having a significant holding in the Schnee Dust Company. Even with all of his wealth, he was still stuck in a bind. His hands were bound behind him, ruffling his charcoal gray suit a good deal. He may have been a business man, but the cut on his forehead showed he had put up some semblance of a fight. Behind him walked his captor, who held a large handgun. The captor was none other than Jaune Arc, Vale's up and coming hitman.

"Why are you doing this? Who did I piss off?" Gray asked.

"Money. As for who you pissed off, I couldn't say. All I know is if I kill you, I get paid" The captor replied.

"That's it? If you want money I could pay you. I- I have a shitload of it"

"I know you do, but I don't care. I let you go, no one would hire me again. It's the way this business works"

"So this is your job huh" Gray's voice took an angry tone. "You kill for money? Where's the honor in that?"

"You think I care about honor?" Jaune replied. "There's no honor in starving to death, so I do what I have to do to make money."

"Then let me pay you for my life!" Gray had gone back to bargaining. "With the amount of money I have you could retire"

"Then what? Deal with my contractor sending assassin after assassin for me. No it's easier to finish this like I planned."

"Y-you can't do this! I have a family, a wife, two kids!" Gray said, his voicing beginning to crack.

"I'll make sure to send flowers. That I can promise." Jaune's monotone voice not wavering in the slightest.

"Well at least tell me who is trying to kill me! Don't I deserve at least that much?"

"Don't know. They talked to my contractor, my contractor talked to me. Also don't say trying, only reason you're alive is because I don't want to have to drag your body to the grave I dug."

"Come on please! There has to be something you want. Name it, I'll get it for you!" Gray's voice now held a very understandable sense of panic.

Jaune just signed. "This ain't the movies, no one's looking for your, and I won't change my mind. Just take the time you have left to make your peace. I've never failed a contract, and that ain't changing"

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, being broken only by a series of sobs. They arrived at a set of railroad tracks running through the forest, but more specifically a grave.

"Well Gray, end of the line." Jaune let a brief chuckle at his pun.

"You're a scumbag. A piece of shit assassin." Gray snarled at Jaune. Jaune only nodded and kneeled the suited man in front of the grave. "God damn you!"

Jaune only smirked and replied. "He already did."

"You're going to burn in hell!" Gray yelled.

"I know, now let's make this quic-" Jaune was cut off by the A-Team theme playing from his pocket. Quickly pulling out his scroll he thumbed the answer button. "You sure? I mean yeah I haven't done it yet but… of course sir." Jaune ended the call and stared at Gray. "Well fuck me. Today must be your lucky day."

Gray's eyes widened as a glimmer of hope flashed in them. "Wait, What! Does this mean I get to live?"

"Yeah, I guess so you luck bastard." Jaune let loose a sigh. "Here's how this is gonna work. I'm gonna cut those ropes and you are not gonna move. Once I say start, you will count to a thousand. After that you can leave." Jaune's tone lowered a bit. "And if you ever try to find me, I will kill you." Once he got a confirmation from Gray, he pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the ropes binding Gray's hands. He started to walk away and called out to Gray. "Start counting down now."

Gray stared into the hole that could have been his grave and started to count. Tears of relief streamed down his face as he began. "One, two, three, four, fiv-"

A gunshot split the night air.

Gray's body slumped into the makeshift grave. The dirt around it was painted a brilliant crimson.

"Sorry buddy, at least you weren't expecting it." Jaune picked up the shovel nearby and made quick work of the grave. In the morning an anonymous tip would lead the police to a fresh grave, marked only by a wooden cross with a Grimm mask nailed to it. In a week's time, the grieving widow of Jackson Gray would receive a bouquet of black roses. After all, Jaune did make a promise.

* * *

 **AN: Sup guys. I've had this story in my head for a while. This story may seem like a generic hitman story, but that will change.** **Even though he's a killer I'm going to do my best to get Jaunes character right. Tell me if you liked or hated the story. As a amateur writer, criticism is very much welcome. Till next time!**

 **-Nild**


	2. Baptism by Fire

Fire and smoked choked the once fresh air around the village of Domremy. The screams of the damned pierced the night. They were quickly silenced as the growls of Grimm became louder. Inside a collapsed house, a young boy was about to lose so much. He was also about to learn Remnants darkest secrets.

" _What happened?"_ Jaune thought to himself as he came to. His mind felt sluggish, like it was full of cobwebs. A wailing siren brought his foggy mind back into focus. " _The Grimm alert."_ Taking in his surroundings, he saw the destruction of the Arc residence. The once proud house was now a smoking pile of rubble. Jaune tried to move, but was restricted by a familiar arm draped over him. He turned and took in the sight of his father, sprawled over him protectively. The young Arc could only let out a gasp. His father had shielded him from the collapsing house. Blood leaked from his father's chest, courtesy of a broken beam that had impaled him. His fathers eyes were empty, all traces of light were gone. Jaune turned as the growls of the Grimm moved towards the former Arc home.

"Dad! Dad wake up. We have to go, please." Jaune let out a strangled sob as he clutched his dad's hand. "Please, I can't leave you here! Dad please. I need you!" The seven year old boys grief consumed him as he let a piercing wail into the night.

"What a pitiful sight." A cool uncaring voice cut through the night. "I thought the Arcs were supposed to be men, fighters. You are nothing but a sniveling brat."

Jaune's head shot towards the voice's owner, and the sight shocked him. Standing before him was a woman dressed in white. Her skin was a sickening ashen color, but the most striking features was her eyes. They were a sickening red, the same as the Grimm. Jaune felt a fear course through him like none he had ever felt as he stared into those soulless voids. "Wh- what do you want from us?" Jaunes voice shook from fright. "Why are you doing this?"

The terrifying woman stalked closer to the young boy. She didn't utter a word as she raised her hand towards the boy as a swirling purple aura formed. She was mere feet away when a flash of white intercepted the woman. Standing protectively in front of the boy was different woman also cloaked in white, and strapped to her belt was a simple silver rose.

"Salem. This ends now." The woman cloaked in white revealed her piercing silver eyes.

"Hmm. Ozpin's silver eyed warrior. How pathetic. You're right. This ends now" The woman now identified as Salem smirked. In a flash both women were locked in a duel to the death. The silver eyed one wielded a simple short sword, while Salem materialized a purple war axe. Jaune stared in awe at the sheer power displayed in the fight. Each attack gave off a shockwave of energy that pushed him back. Each woman matched the other blow for blow. He was put into a trance at the graceful dance of death.

The silver eyed one darted around the lady of Grimm, and let loose a series of slashes at her exposed back. This attack was quickly dodged, and Salem brought her axe around. The Rose ducked under the axe and tried to bring the sword in for a slash. Her efforts were rewarded with a punch to the face and a kick to the solar plexus. As she stumbled back Salem took advantage of her distraction, and brought her war axe down on the Roses shoulder. A cry of pain followed as it cut clean through the huntresses aura. The Rose collapsed, and Salem smirked as she turned to face the Arc heir.

"It's a shame really. Had the silver eyed one not intervened, your death would have been quick. Now however, I am going to enjoy myself." The terrifying woman approached Jaune and slowly drew a knife from her cloak. As she prepared to strike the cowering boy, a primal shriek erupted from the fallen Rose. The warrior's eyes gave off a menacing glow as she glowered at Salem. In a flash the Rose appeared in front a Salem, preparing to let her sword bite into the womans neck. However, for the first time in her life she was too slow. Salem buried her knife up to the hilt into the warrior's chest. Blood erupted from her chest in a brilliant spray of crimson. The Roses face didn't show fear like Salem had expected, it just expressed cold fury. Her eyes seemed to brighten, before a wave of energy exploded outwards.

Jaune stared in horror at his saviors defeat, but was quickly overcome by a blinding white light. He felt a sense of euphoria wash over him as the light overlook all of his senses. In the final moments before he passed out, he spotted swirling white rose petals coated in red.

* * *

The sound of his scroll ringing brought Jaune out of his nightmare. He quickly wiped his forehead clear of sweat and grabbed his scroll. "The fuck do you want?" Jaunes asked grumpily.

"Good morning to yourself sunshine." Shot back a gruff voice. "You talk to all your bosses like that?"

Jaune sighed. He was in no mood to deal with this. "Cut to the chase Junior. I got like four hours of sleep." Jaune had gotten home late after finishing his last contract.

"Oh yeah, I heard the news. Jackson Gray can now join the headless hunt." The club owner gave a soft chuckle at his joke. "I am curious though, why the Grimm mask? That's not your calling card."

"No shit it's not, but I had my reasons." Jaune never cared to give more information than necessary. " By the way, did the client pay the full amount?"

"Yup, thirty grand was deposited into your account last night. Try not to spend it all on the widow's bouquet, alright kid." Junior really liked pushing his buttons. "You know you're weird right?"

"And you're an ass, tell me something new." Jaune grumbled. He had dealt with the annoying contractor and information broker for the better part of two years.

"Why'd you ever become an assassin? You could have been a comedian, or just a smartass"

"And you could have been the owner of the shittiest club in Vale, oh wait. Now I've got a few plans today and as much as I love our conversations, I kind of have to go." Jaune was getting antsy talking to the man. He rolled out of bed and walked into his kitchen.

"Before I let you go, thought I'd let you know that fake ID chip you wanted came in. All you have to do now is plug it into your scroll. You can pick it up tonight, if you're willing to slum it in my shitty club." replied Junior.

Jaune grabbed a beer out of the fridge and took a long drink, completely ignoring the second comment. "Well, that's good news. I'll see you then." Jaune ended the call without another word. He took another swig of his beer and gazed around his small apartment. It was nothing special, just a small kitchen and living room. The bedroom was off to the left of the kitchen through a small hallway. Taking another sip of his beer, Jaune shuffled his way into the living room. Taking a seat on his couch, he grabbed a TV remote and flicked the on button. He browsed the channels until he found the Vale News Network. After the VNN logo popped up, the beautiful form of Lisa Lavender took up most of the screen. Her voice was laced with sadness as she began speaking.

"Today is a day of mourning for the citizens of Atlas. Reports came in early this morning confirming that Jackson Gray is dead. The philanthropist and primary shareholder of the SDC was executed last night by a currently unknown party." A picture of Jaunes burial marker popped up.

"The only object marking the grave was a wooden cross with a Grimm mask attached. This marker has many theorizing that the White Fang is responsible for this terrible crime. Tension has been mounting between the once peaceful organization and the SDC, and this may be the breaking point. For further insight, we are going to turn to our correspondent in Atlas, Richard Myers." The young newswoman gave a brief nod to the camera before the view switched to Atlas. A young man holding a microphone stood outside of the Schnee headquarters tower.

"Thank you Lisa. Now the murder of Mr. Gray is not the first instance of an SDC death at the hands of the Fang. For the past five years small skirmishes have been taking place between the two organizations, but it has gotten much worse as of late. Over the past year, tensions have reached an all time high. Influential supporters of the SDC have been dying at an alarming pace, leading to aggressive response against the White Fang." In the top left corner of the screen, a picture of a man appears. The man is in his late fifties, and waving at an unseen crowd. As his picture appears, Jaunes mouth curves into a smirk.

"We can all remember the terror that followed the public assassination of Atlesian Councilman and SDC board member, John Ford. While the Fang never took responsibility for the assassination, eyewitness reports later confirmed their involvement. This murder set off a three month war between the SDC and the Fang, ending after nearly 5000 casualties. A shaky peace treaty was established, but it now appears to be broken. Reports are already showing SDC funded Mercenaries gearing up for something big. Is Jackson Gray's death the spark that will ignite another bloodbath? Only time can tell, back to you Lisa." A click of the remote shut the TV off as Jaune stared at the screen.

" _Finally, six months of work. Let's see how this fucks over your plans."_ Jaunes smirk transformed into a full grin. " _The Queen and the Wizard, let's see how badly a stray knight can fuck you both over."_ Jaunes grin turned into laughter as his previous bad mood disappeared. He took a large drink of his beer, and did his best to forget about his earlier nightmare. The memory of Rose petals and blood.

* * *

 **AN: Sup everyone. Now I would like to apologize if this chapter was a little on the edgy side. I had to do some back story, but now I can move the story along. There was a distinct lack of Jaune killing in this chapter, that will change in the coming chapters. If you hated it let me know why, criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading.**

 **-Nild**


	3. Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

Jaune stared at the rundown apartment that belonged to his target. He had been waiting for two hours, and Gordon Damrosch had yet to show his face. Jaune was waiting in a small gray sedan, parked across the street from the building. Jaune's mind started to wander, thinking back to his meeting with Junior a few hours previous.

* * *

Jaune was sitting in Juniors office, waiting for the giant man to return. He was seated in a rather uncomfortable plastic chair, across from Juniors desk. The office was sparsely furnished, and felt rather impersonal. There were no pictures or personal trinkets, the perfect place for a shady deal. Nothing to get leverage over the man. Jaune turned towards the door as soon as the handle began to turn. In stepped the very man he was thinking about.

"Jaune, sorry I took so long. The construction workers kept hounding me for design preferences" Junior frowned as he remembered why his club was being repaired. "That stupid blonde did a real number on the place."

"Don't feel too bad, us blondes kick a lot of ass." Jaune smirked. " Plus you were her only competition."

"Ha ha, very funny kid." Junior said as he took a seat. "Here's the chip you wanted." Junior pulled a small bag from his desk and gave it to Jaune.

Jaune opened the bag and pulled out the small ID chip. He quickly grabbed his scroll and plugged it in. A small notification popped up on his scroll, and he clicked it. _Do you wish to pair this ID with your scroll? Y/N._

Jaune tapped yes and waited a moment before the screen loaded the ID on the chip. The entire ID popped up, giving Jaune what he wanted.

 _Name: Juan Crescent_

 _Age: Seventeen_

 _Sex: M_

 _Height: 6'2"_

 _Kingdom of Birth: Mistral_

 _Status: Hunter in Training_

Accompanying this information was a picture of Jaune, with some feature changes. His blonde hair was now a jet black, and his formerly blue eyes were a deep crimson. Jaune's normally blemish free face had a deep scar on his cheek. " _Perfect, I'm almost ready."_

"Well kid, how does it look?"

"It's exactly what I needed Junior, your guy does some great work. Now you said he needed a different form of payment for this, what does he want exactly?" Jaune was incredibly curious.

Junior sighed and reached back into his desk. He quickly withdrew an all too familiar red colored folder. "He wants to take out a contract." Junior slid the file to Jaune. "He won't activate the IDs access card features until the contract is finished."

Jaune grabbed the file and skimmed through it. As he read, a large frown grew. "Alright, anything else?"

"Yeah, he said to make him suffer. If he doesn't, the client won't activate your ID." Junior replied.

Jaune glanced at a document labeled as CSI report before answering. "That I can do."

* * *

Jaune was brought out of thoughts when he caught sight of someone leaving the apartment building. Jaune, like all living things, had aura. In fact, he had a ridiculous amount of it. His aura is what allowed him to complete so many jobs flawlessly. He took a second to focus his aura into his eyes, and focussed on the person leaving the building. He could suddenly make out their face, and it was definitely Gordon. The short man had close cropped brown hair, and a pair of glasses sat on his crooked nose. Dressed in a wife beater and jeans, he slowly walked out of his building.

Jaune quickly started his car. Gordon had just started walking down the street, and Jaune pulled his car out of its parking space. Jaune drove past his target by two blocks, and then pulled into a vacant lot. He quickly got out of his car and stood next to the sidewalk. He waited a couple minutes before he spotted his target trudging towards him. Pulling out a pack of smokes, Jaune waited for Gordon to get close.

"Hey man, got a light?" Jaune said as Gordon approached. "I left mine at home."

Gordon stopped walking and nodded towards Jaune. "Yeah give me a sec." As Gordon fumbled to pull a lighter from his pocket, Jaune walked towards him. Pumping his aura into his arm, Jaune let loose a vicious punch to Gordon's stomach.

Gordon fell to the ground with a grunt, the wind knocked out of him. Jaune quickly reached into his pocket and withdrew a syringe, and stabbed it into Gordon's neck. As soon as he depressed it, Gordon jumped up and let loose a punch at Jaune. Jaune ducked out of the way and got behind Gordon. He quickly wrapped his hands around his neck and put him into a choke hold. Gordon tried to break free, but started to slow down as the drugs took effect. He gave one final tap to Jaune before passing out completely.

Jaune sighed as he hauled the body to his car. He lifted and threw Gordon into the trunk with a loud thump. "Oum, he was a heavy bastard." Jaune took a deep breath before staring at the man in the trunk. " _You deserve this."_

* * *

The first thing Gordon felt when he came to was the cold bite of metal in his wrists. The second was the gentle breeze that caused his body to sway slightly. His eyes shot open as he took in his surroundings. The darkness of night made it near impossible to make out much detail, but he could tell he was in a forest. The howling of Beowolves in the distance caused him to shiver in fear, and brought down the reality of his situation. He was hanging from his wrists in an unknown, Grimm infested forest.

"Hello? Please tell me someone's there!" Gordon's voice wavered in uncertainty and fear "Anyone!" Gordon began hyperventilating, his fear permeating the air around him.

"I'd recommend doing your best to stay calm." Jaunes voice cut through Gordon's panic attack. "You know Grimm are attracted to that shit right?"

Gordon's eyes scanned the area, trying to find his kidnapper. "Who the hell are you, and what are you trying to do here?" Gordon put on a brave face, despite his kidnapper not being able to see it. "My family isn't rich, you can't get any money out of me" Unfortunately for him, Jaune could spot false bravado easily, even without being able to see his target.

"Mr. Damrosch, I have no interest in your money. I already have plenty." Jaune sighed as he unholstered his pistol. "I am just doing my job."

"So what? Some low life thug pays you and you take a life? No remorse, no regrets?" Gordon tone was one of disdain. "You're just gonna shoot me here and cash out. How fucking pathetic."

Jaunes voiced lowered considerably. "What a high horse." He gave a brief pause "Well, you're right about a few things, but you also got something wrong. Why would I go through the trouble of knocking you out, and then dragging you here to shoot you?"

"I- you- what?" A horrible thought dawned on Gordon, and he gulped. "You're going to kill me r-right?"

"No. My contract was to make sure you had a slow painful death, but it didn't say anything about me pulling the trigger." Jaunes mouth curved upwards into a wicked smirk. "Do you know how Beowolves hunt? It's quite fascinating really."

Jaune received no answer besides a small whimper, and continued. "Well, they're pack animals, led by an Alpha. When they come across easy prey, the Alphas always let the smaller ones at it first. The smaller ones have their fun, but always make sure the Alpha delivers the killing blow. This is to keep the order in the pack, and is always a horrible death for their prey." Jaune paused for a second."Now your feet are hanging at about Beowolf level, so you can see where this is going. Jaune glanced at his watch and realized how much time he had wasted.

"Sweet Oum, I'm sorry for the monologuing like that. I'm usually so much more professional." Jaune's face morphed into anger. "But I'm making a special exception for you. I saw the crime reports you know."

"Wait, please! Show mercy. Just put a bullet in my head." Gordon's terror was back in full swing.

Jaune ignored his plea. "Her father, my client passed along a message by the way. He hopes you rot in hell, today should've been her eighth birthday." Jaune turned away from the clearing, raising his pistol into the air at the same time. A shot deafened the night. Immediately following it was a second of complete and utter silence. Then the howling started.

* * *

The roof of Jaunes apartment was rarely visited. Most of the buildings occupants cared little for getting fresh air, especially at night. Jaune relaxed into a sitting position on the roofs edge and gazed into the night. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, along with a lighter. As he lit up his smoke he stared at the sleepy city of Vale. The city didn't have a large nightlife, unless you were a criminal. Jaune breathed in a lung full of the poison smoke, and felt himself start to relax. He began to let his mind wander free, but he was soon snapped out of his reverie by a familiar sound. The sound was of flapping wings followed by boots settling behind him. He didn't have to look back to know who was there.

"Raven. What are you doing here?" Jaune took a particularly large drag of his smoke before turning around. Before him stood Raven Branwen, clad in her signature red and black dress. The only thing missing was her Grimm mask, which normally covered her piercing red eyes.

"What? Can't I just drop in for the occasional visit?"

"No. You don't." Jaune deadpanned. "Now seriously, what did you need?" Jaunes voice held a hint of amusement.

Raven sighed and reached into one of her pouches. "I got the blueprints you needed." Raven tossed a manilla folder to Jaune. "Are you sure about this? Storming the Tower won't be easy."

Jaune gave the folder a brief glance before replying. "Yeah I'm sure, seeing as you can't do it."

"You know I'm too well known at Beacon. I wouldn't make it to the control room, let alone his office. After I left, they set up sensors for my ports." Raven paused before adding. "I will do my best to support you from the outside though."

"Thanks, hopefully I won't need it." Jaune took one last drag on his cigarette before crushing it in an ashtray next to him. "Now is this congressional hearing over?" Jaune added with a small chuckle.

Raven glared at Jaune before rolling her eyes. "What did I say about those damn bird jokes?" When she didn't receive and answer, she just sighed an walked towards the edge of the roof. "Anyways, I'll be back in two days. Then you can infiltrate the tower. Try not to do anything stupid until then, alright?"

"Sure whatever you say, see you then. In the meantime, have a nice flight." Raven rolled her eyes before leaping off the roof, quickly transforming into a bird and soaring away. Jaune quickly grabbed the folder Raven had provided before heading inside. He took a last glance at the skyline, and saw the sun breaking the horizon. As the fires of a new day embraced Jaune, he had one thought. " _How fucked am I?"_

* * *

 **AN: Sup. Now before it even starts, I will say this. Jaune is not going to end up dating Raven or something like that. Their relationship will be explored further, but it is more of a student/teacher relationship. Also some were concerned that Jaune wasn't really in charge, but Junior was. That's not what I'm intending, Junior is his access to the underworld and employment, but everything Jaune does is his own choice. If you hated it, let me know why. I'm honestly astounded by the well reception to this story, thank you all for following and reviewing. Thanks for reading!**

 **-Nild**


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